


Three Kings

by fandomsnstuff



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Klunk - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 00:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11909199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsnstuff/pseuds/fandomsnstuff
Summary: Out in the middle of the ocean, there is an island. To most, it doesn’t exist. Not marked on any maps or known by any outsiders. Even those who pass it, will go by not knowing it’s there, should it decide to keep itself hidden.Ruled by three loving kings, it's a wonderful place to live and a place few are willing to forget.





	Three Kings

**Author's Note:**

> I actually worked really hard on this one so I hope you like it!

 

“Keeeiiiiith.”

“Five more minutes.” Keith mumbled, snuggling further into the warm body next to him.

“Keeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiith.” The voice belonging to the warm body whined, tightening its grip around him.

“Shhhhhhhhh…” Keith reached up, hitting blindly above him, hoping to cover the mouth that kept making noise.

“Keeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiitttthhh!!”

“I’m trying to sleep, Lance. What do you want?” Keith opened his eyes and rested his chin on Lance’s bare chest, giving him the best glare he could muster that early in the morning.

“Where did Hunk go?” Lance asked.

Keith looked over at the other side of their large bed where the sheets were messy, but empty. He shrugged. “I don’t know. He probably went to help with breakfast like he usually does.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s so early.”

Keith looked at the small clock next to their bed, one of the few pieces of technology that they had on their island. It was early, not even 7 a.m. yet. “Maybe he just couldn’t sleep.”

“But he could have just stayed here for cuddles.” Lance pouted.

“Am I not a good enough cuddler for you, Lance?” Keith pulled away from Lance in mock offence.

“Nooooo come baaack…” Lance whined, reaching for Keith.

Keith got off the bed, the back of his hand against his forehead and the other pressed to his chest, “you only like Hunk! Maybe I should just leave, you’d be better off without me.”

“Nooooooo…” Lance had his torso hanging off the edge of the bed now, “Keeeeiiiiitttthhhh…..I looooove youuuu!!!”

Keith walked over to their bedroom window, “I know I said I would stay, but-” he paused, noticing several people down in the courtyard setting something up.

That, and his own words reminded him of what very special day it was. He whipped back around to face Lance who was sitting up properly in the bed now. “Lance!”

Lance cocked his head, confused, “yeah?”

Keith crossed back to the bed in a few quick steps before tackling Lance in a hug, sprawling them both diagonally over it, “happy anniversary!”

Lance gasped, his arms instinctively wrapping tightly around Keith, “that’s today!!”

Keith propped himself up on his forearms, “there’s something being set up down in the courtyard. I assume that’s where Hunk disappeared to.”

Lance’s eyes twinkled with excitement, “let’s go down and surprise him.”

“With what?”

“With us!”

Keith smiled, “of course, because you being up before nine is quite a surprise.”

“You’re so mean to me.” Lance pushed Keith off of him so he could get up.

“I mean you said my cuddles weren’t good enough for you so…” Keith trailed off, his smile growing.

Lance rolled his eyes, but he had a smile of his own. “Just get up and put some clothes on, we’ve got to surprise Hunk before he comes up here to surprise us.”

Keith rolled off the bed and walked over to his wardrobe, he opened the doors and paused, “Lance?”

Lance hummed to signal he was paying attention, his head buried in his own wardrobe.

“Should I be putting on the ceremonial stuff? Since you said anniversaries are a big thing around here.”

“No, not right now. You’ll need them later for the big public celebration but right now it’ll just be the three of us with the staff around.”

Keith nodded, pulling on a loose-fitting white t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. He closed the doors to his wardrobe and looked over at Lance who was wearing a white V-neck shirt and light blue shorts. For an island that was isolated in the middle of the ocean with little to no modern technology, Keith was pleasantly surprised to find that their casual wear was strangely up-to-date.

Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and ran out the door, pulling him along through hallways and down stairs until they reached the throne room. The large wooden doors at the front of the room, making the entrance to the main castle and leading out to the castle to the courtyard, were slightly ajar. Lance and Keith peeked through the open door to see Hunk standing right in front of it with his back to them. But before they could jump out and surprise him, he turned around and saw them.

“Awww man!” Hunk groaned, “the one day you guys wake up early.”

Despite their surprise attack being foiled, Lance and Keith still jumped out from behind the door and wrapped their arms around Hunk’s neck. He laughed, wrapping an arm around each of them and pressing a kiss to their temples. “Yeah I love you guys too. Happy anniversary.”

“Happy anniversary.” Keith and Lance mumbled together and as coherently as possible while having their faces buried in Hunk’s shoulders.

They stood like that for a few moments before Hunk broke the silence. “I’ve been meaning to ask, does this count as one year or two years?”

Keith pulled back to look at Hunk properly, “what do you mean?”

“Well we got married one year ago but that was because it was exactly one year after you had decided to stay.”

“Hmmm,” Lance hummed contemplatively, tapping his chin with one hand while keeping the other arm wrapped around Hunk’s neck, “well it’s our one year wedding anniversary but it’s our two year anniversary overall. So I would say this counts as two years.”

“I say two years because that’s how long we’ve actually been together. Marriage didn’t change anything except for making us officially kings.” Keith said. The other two nodded in agreement and they stood there in silence again. Keith looked around at the decorations being set up in the courtyard. “So what’s all this for, anyway?”

Hunk looked up and around at their surroundings, “it’s for the celebration later today. It starts in the afternoon and will go until sundown.”

“So you gave up warm cuddles in bed on our anniversary to set up for the celebration when we literally have people that we pay to do that for us?” Lance asked.

“Oh, hush. You would have helped too if you were up.”

Lance shrugged in agreement. “True.”

“Plus, I was already up making you guys special anniversary breakfast but you were obviously still asleep when I finished so I figured I might as well help.”

Keith poked Lance’s arm, “I told you he was making breakfast.”

Lance poked Keith back, “and I told you it was too early for him to do that.”

Hunk tightened his grip around their waists and hoisted both of them over his shoulders, ignoring their surprised yelps. “And I just told both of you that I made you a special anniversary breakfast. A fact which you both seem to be ignoring so I guess I just have to take you there myself.”

Hunk walked back through the large wooden doors into the throne room and through a door on the left wall into the dining room with no protests coming from either husband. He put them both back down on their feet and they turned to marvel at the array of food before them. Their table, fit for eight people, was covered with many of their favourite breakfast dishes. From waffles and pancakes to fresh fruit, everything they could ever want to eat was there.

Lance and Keith looked back at Hunk with stars in their eyes. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Lance said in awe.

Hunk smiled, “I think you’ve mentioned it once or twice.”

Lance pressed a quick kiss to Hunk’s cheek before skipping off towards the table and taking his seat. Keith grabbed Hunk’s face a pressed their lips together quickly before pulling back. “You are the greatest person on this planet.”

“So I’ve been told.” Hunk took Keith’s hand and lead him over to the table. Keith sat across from Lance and Hunk sat at the head of the table. Sitting that way allowed them to look at and talk to each other easier.

They ate and talked for almost an hour. Afterwards, they went on a walk together along the stretch of beach that ran behind the castle. It was quieter and more private than the main beach; not that they didn’t love talking to their citizens, but that morning was for them to spend alone together.

After walking for a short while, they paused to rest. Keith wandered into the water up to his ankles while Lance and Hunk found a shady spot to sit. He stared out at the horizon, watching the endless ocean shift and change from one moment to the next.

If Keith looked hard enough, he could make out dark clouds and restless waves looming outside the magical barrier that encased their island. “Looks like there’s a storm brewing out there.” He said, loudly enough for Hunk and Lance to hear from their shady spot further up the beach.

“I wonder if we’ll get any visitors.” Hunk thought aloud.

“Probably not.” Keith turned and walked out of the water towards his husbands, the sand sticking to his wet feet as he went. “There’s rarely anyone out in the middle of the ocean anymore.”

“You were in the middle of the ocean.” Lance pointed out.

Keith rolled his eyes, sitting down next to Hunk. “You know that’s only because I was part of a group of explorers and nobody else wanted to investigate weird signals we were getting so I set out on my own to prove to them that it actually was something.” Keith leaned over Hunk to look at Lance, “and guess what?”

“What?”

Keith laid down in the sand, hands behind his head. “I was riiiight.” He sing-songed.

Lance and Hunk laughed, letting their conversation fall quiet with nothing but the breeze flowing through the trees and the sound of waves crashing on the beach to break the silence. Keith stared through the tree branches at the clouds overhead as they moved through the sky. He liked moments like these, where the three of them were together. They didn’t have to be doing anything special, just...existing.

“Do you miss it?” Lance said, breaking the silence. Keith sat up and looked over at Lance. Lance turned his gaze away from the ocean and towards Keith. “The outside world. Your explorer crew. Do you miss it?”

Keith smiled softly, “I don’t miss the outside world itself, but I do miss my crew. They were the only people who cared about me out there. But I know what you’re really asking, Lance.” Keith reached over Hunk and took hold of one of Lance’s hands and one of Hunk’s. Hunk then wrapped his other arm around Lance, completing their little circle. Keith fixed Lance with a determined stare and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “I don’t regret it. At all. Staying here, living this life, it’s anything and everything I could ever want, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”

Lance swallowed the lump in his throat. “I know.”

Hunk let go of Keith’s hand in favour of wrapping his arm around his waist as well and pulling them closer to him. “None of us are going anywhere.” He stated. “It’s our anniversary! Let’s be happy and celebrate! We’ve got a party to get ready for!”

Lance laughed, “well, we can’t really go get ready for the party if you’ve got us in a death grip.” He paused for a moment, “not that I’m complaining.”

Hunk hummed, “maybe I should just carry you back to the castle.”

Lance and Keith made eye contact, having a wordless conversation. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that.” Keith said slowly with Lance nodding along.

Throwing Lance and Keith over his shoulders for the second time that morning, Hunk stood up with a shout of “off we go!” and marched back towards the castle with both of his husbands giggling the whole way there.

~~~

Keith was looking at himself in the mirror, having just put on his ceremonial clothes for the celebration that would be starting soon. He was wearing a blood red long sleeve shirt and pants that were made of a light and flowy material. Lance and Hunk wore the same thing as him but in different colours; an ocean blue and a deep orange respectively. The one detail connecting them all together was the matching golden trim around the collars, wrists, and ankles of their clothing. As well as the golden sashes wrapped around their waists and the crowns perched atop their heads.

“Ready to go?” Hunk wrapped an arm around Keith’s waist.

Keith looked up at Hunk and then around at Lance, who was waiting for them at the door to their bedroom. “Yeah.”

Removing his arm from his waist, Hunk took Keith’s hand and lead him over to Lance, who took Keith’s other hand. They walked through the halls together, hand-in-hand with Keith in the middle. When Keith first got together with Hunk and Lance, therefore making him a prince and his presence be required at every event, him being in the middle and holding hands with both of them was an act of solidarity. Hunk and Lance’s way of telling him that he wasn’t alone and that he didn’t need to be nervous. But at that moment, walking to the courtyard for their anniversary celebration, Keith found that he wasn’t nervous, he wasn’t worried that he would say the wrong thing or that the people would hate him. He felt happy, he felt safe and loved.

He had everything that he never knew he needed.

~~~~~

“Pidge I thought you said there wasn’t supposed to be a storm!” Shiro shouted over the deafening sounds of crashing waves, torrential rain, and wind whipping around them from every side.

“There wasn’t supposed to be a storm!” She shouted back, trying to cover the computer she had brought with one of the flimsy ponchos they had on their little boat and use said computer at the same time.

“This boat isn’t fit to be this far out to sea!” Allura yelled, her dyed white hair sticking to her face with rain. “It’s not meant to be in a storm like this either!”

“One big wave and we’re done for! This boat will flip like a chocolate chip pancake on sunday morning!” Coran was steering the boat, trying to turn them back in the direction they came from only to get pushed further out to sea by the ferocious waves.

Shiro let out an irritated sigh, “this is what I get for trying to have a nice day off.”

The four of them were just going to go out on the water for a little while to relax on a nice, sunny day in Coran’s small motorboat. But a massive storm, that the complex radars Pidge had on her computer had somehow not picked up, started abruptly. The waves had made their little boat go farther out to sea until they couldn’t see the land anymore and every attempt to turn around was futile.

“Uh, guys? I don’t want to open old wounds or anything but…” Pidge turned away from her computer to look at them, “we’re near the coordinates where Keith disappeared.”

“WHAT?!” The other three people on the boat shouted in unison.

“That’s impossible. Keith was way farther out, there’s no way this storm carried us that far that quickly.” Shiro walked up to Pidge and crouched down, squinting at the computer through the rain.

“I’ve had those coordinates memorized for the last two years, Shiro. We’re basically right next to-” Pidge was cut off when a wall of water came crashing down on top of the boat.

The massive wave flipped the boat over, knocking all four of them into the water. Shiro surfaced, gasping for air. He looked around and saw Pidge struggling as waves swelled and crashed around her. He called to her, grabbing her attention and swimming over to her, fighting against the dark water that swirled around him. Once he reached her, she placed her hands on his shoulders to keep herself afloat.

“Have you seen Coran and Allura?” She asked, pushing her glasses up on her face, having some how not lost them after getting knocked overboard.

Shiro looked around at the waves, trying to ignore how his limbs were already getting tired from treading water. He could see a shape off in the distance which he determined to be their overturned boat, carried off by the unforgiving ocean.

“Shiro what do we do?”

“I don’t know.”

Pidge swallowed thickly, blinking back the scared tears in her eyes. “What’s going to happen to us?”

“I don’t-”

Shiro got cut off, getting pulled under the water by...something. He felt Pidge lose her grip on his shoulders when she got pulled down after him. Shiro looked down, but couldn’t see what was pulling on him. He kicked, trying to get back to the surface, but nothing helped. That didn’t stop him from trying, though. The only thing that stopped his struggling was when he lost consciousness.

Shiro barely even noticed the black dotting his vision since it was so dark under the water. He noticed the burning in his lungs but he couldn’t stop. He had to keep going and find his friends. He couldn’t let this happen to them. But whatever was pulling him down won in the end, and he blacked out.

~~~

The first thing Shiro registered was heat. It was warm, much warmer than underneath the ocean. Then he noticed sand. He could feel it underneath him. Was he on a beach? If he had washed up on a beach somewhere, surely someone would have noticed by now and he wouldn’t still be there, right?

Shiro dug his hands into the sand and pushed himself up so he was sitting. He opened his eyes to see the calm ocean in front of him and the sun hanging low, painting the sky orange.

A soft groan next to him caught his attention. Pidge was on her back, not even a foot away from him. “Are you alright?” He asked, grateful that she was alive and he wasn’t alone.

She pushed herself up and nodded, squinting at the sun. She somehow still had her glasses. Pidge looked up at him and opened her mouth to say something but her eye caught a few figures further down the beach. “Shiro!” She grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn around, “it’s Allura and Coran!”

Sure enough, a little ways down the beach Shiro could see the distinctive orange of Coran’s hair and the white of Allura’s. Shiro and Pidge stumbled and ran the short distance over to them and knelt there as they regained their consciousness.

They sat up at the same time. Allura looked out at the ocean, then up at the sky. “I guess the storm passed.” She said.

“That storm was as ferocious as two feral cats caught in my fresh linen bedsheets!” Coran exclaimed, rubbing his head. “We’re lucky we all survived.” His tone softened as he looked around at the other three people, “that could have gone horribly wrong.”

“I mean, we’re stranded on some beach with no boat and no way to contact anyone but-” Pidge grinned, “-we all made it out alive.”

Shiro smiled down at her, “you also didn’t lose your glasses.”

She pushed said glasses further up her face, “that too.”

“Halt!” The small group jumped as a loud shout sounded behind them. They turned to see a tall man standing at the edge of the forest that lined the beach. He wore loose pants and shirt that were varying shades of dark, earthy greens and was holding a spear in one hand that he was pointing towards them. “Outsiders! Who are you and what are you doing here?”

Shiro stood up and held his hands in front of him, both a defensive and calming gesture. “We’re sorry for intruding but-”

“Brother!” A woman came up behind the man, wearing similar clothes and also holding a spear, but she had a wide smile on her face and looked much less threatening. “I was wondering where you’d run off to. The celebration is ending and-” She paused, noticing the strangers in front of her. “Oh!” She walked towards them, arms open in greeting. “Hello, outsiders! I am Shay and this is my brother-”

“Shay!” The man ran up to her and grabbed her arm, keeping her from walking any closer to them. “We don’t know these people, they might be dangerous. We must be cautious.”

The girl rolled her eyes and Shiro got the feeling that that wasn’t the first time she’d heard him say that. His suspicions were confirmed when she huffed and turned her head away from her brother. “That’s exactly what you said about His Majesty Ke-”

Shay’s brother dropped his spear and slapped his hand over her mouth, “do not tell the strangers the king’s name! We do not know what they seek here!”

She pushed his hand away and ripped her arm out of his grip, “the island would never allow those who seek to do harm to come ashore. I am sure.” Shay turned towards the group, smile back on her face. “I apologise, outsiders. My brother is quite stubborn in his ways. As I said, I am Shay and he is Rax. We are the heads of the Royal Guards.”

Shiro smiled warmly. “I’m Shiro. This is Pidge, Allura, and Coran.” He pointed to each of them in turn. They were all standing behind him and waved when Shiro introduced them. “We apologize for intruding, but we got caught in a storm and carried out to sea. We were all knocked overboard and somehow washed up here.”

“See, brother? The island wouldn’t have saved them from the storm if it didn’t deem them worthy.”

Rax hummed, still eyeing them suspiciously. “Perhaps.”

Shay bent down and picked up her brother’s spear, handing it to him. “We must take them to the castle. It’s tradition for the royalty to host visitors.”

Rax snatched the spear from Shay’s hand. “I know that. Everyone knows that.” He turned and started walking in the direction he had come from; down a path that ran through the forest. “Come along, then. The sun is setting.”

Shay lingered behind Rax and fell into step next to Shiro. “I apologize again for him.” She whispered. “He is quite protective of this land and this community. He’s always suspicious of outsiders. Though he has no reason to be.”

“It’s okay,” he glanced back at Pidge, Allura, and Coran, “we get what it’s like. Wanting to protect people.”

Shay regarded him and the others with a strange look. “You’ve lost something very important to you.”

“Yes. It was a few years ago, though. We’ve...come to terms with it.”

He was referring to Keith, and they all knew it. When he had picked up strange signals from the middle of the ocean, all of them tried to prevent him from going to investigate. There had been lots of reports dating many many years back of people and boats going missing in that area, and the people who returned, washed up on shorelines near their homes with no memories of where they had gone. But he went anyway. When they found out he had left, they tried everything to get him to come back and when that proved useless, they did their best to at least guide him. They made him check in on his radio every hour, and he did. He made sure they knew he was okay. Until he didn’t. The radio transmissions stopped. Any attempt at contact just brought back static. Search and rescue crews found nothing and told them to assume the worst.

“Not to worry.” Shay placed a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Our kings can give you passage back to your home. Or if you wish to stay, you will be welcomed into our community.”

“Thank you.”

Allura took a few quick steps so she was walking on Shay’s other side. “Did you say your kings?”

“Yes.” Shay smiled widely at Allura, “they are wonderful. Today is the anniversary of their marriage.”

“Ah!” Coran piped up, “that must have been where the music had been coming from!”

“What music?” Pidge asked.

“You know! The music I heard on the beach!”

Shiro looked back at him, “I didn’t hear any music.”

“Me neither.” Allura said.

“Well perhaps you were too preoccupied with being glad we didn’t drown to hear it!” Coran huffed.

“Enough loitering.” Rax said, “we’ve reached the courtyard. The celebration has ended. The kings must be inside the castle. Come along.”

Rax lead them out of the forest and into a large open space. It was surrounded by trees on two sides; where they group stood and the side to their left. The other side lead down a hill to what seemed to be a small town and on the opposite side of the courtyard was a pair of large wooden doors leading into a stone castle. There were several people in the courtyard who were taking down tables and decorations made of different flowers and leaves, they all wore similar clothes to Rax and Shay; loose pants and long-sleeved shirts varying in colour from person to person. They paused in their work and stared at the newcomers as they crossed the courtyard, whispering to each other.

Reaching the wooden doors, Rax turned to them. “Wait here with Shay. I will speak to the kings then come retrieve you.” He said firmly before pulling one door open a fraction and slipping in.

Shay must have noticed the uneasy look the group shared with each other because she stepped in front of them and faced them, “you need not worry, our kings are very kind and will welcome you to our home. In fact, one of them was an outsider like you. He was set to return to his home but His Majesty K-”

“Sister.” Shay was cut off as Rax opened the door again. “The kings wish to see the outsiders.”

She nodded and stepped aside to let the group go through the door. “Just tell them you were washed ashore in the storm. They will give you a place to stay until your passage home is ready.”

Shiro smiled at her, “thank you.” He said quietly.

“Come on, the kings are waiting.” Rax said, impatiently holding the door open.

Shiro walked in first with the other three following him closely. In the centre of the room there was a pedestal on which three thrones sat. The kings stood on it in front of the thrones. Shiro’s eyes fell on the first king. He was tall and skinny, wearing blue clothes with golden trim and a crown on his head. “We apologize for intruding but-” his eyes drifted to the next king, he was taller and bigger than the first and wearing clothes identical to the other king’s, but orange, as well as a crown, “-we got caught in a storm and washed up on your beach. We-” Shiro’s gaze went to the third king and any words he had planned died on his tongue. The third king was shorter than the other two, he had paler skin and black hair. He was wearing a crown and red clothes with golden trim. He was staring at the group in front of him with wide eyes. Shiro stared back. “Keith?” was all he could bring himself to say.

They stared at each other until Keith broke eye contact, looking down at the ground. “I don’t need to be here for this.” He said, stepping down from the pedestal and rushing up a flight of stairs on the right side of the room.

They all stared at the spot where Keith had disappeared, lost in their own thoughts. All of them were brought back to reality when someone cleared their throat. Looking back at the front of the room, the king in blue and the king in orange both stepped off the pedestal and towards the group.

“So you must be the explorer crew Keith has told us so much about.” The blue one said. “I’m Lance. This is Hunk.” Lance reached out and took Hunk’s hand in his.

Allura, sensing that Shiro wasn’t going to be able to say anything coherent, stepped in front of him and took over. “You know who we are?”

Hunk nodded, “Keith has told us a lot about his life on the outside. I assume you’re Allura? The sweet but slightly intimidating friend who’s always ready to defend those she cares about.” She nodded slowly. Hunk looked down at Pidge, “and you must be Pidge? The techie that may be small but can pack quite a punch.”

“Uh...yeah?”

“You must be Coran.” Lance said, peeking around Allura. “the orange-haired one that always has a story to tell.”

“Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe has a story for any occasion!” Coran declared proudly in an attempt to lighten up the mood surrounding his friends.

“And you must be Shiro.” Lance stepped towards him, a soft smile on his face, “the big brother that was always there for him when no one else was.”

Shiro blinked at Lance, still at a loss. He cleared his throat. “Uh...yeah. That’s me. I’m Shiro.”

Lance stepped away from the group and back to Hunk’s side. “We can offer you a boat to take you back to your home.” Hunk said. “But we have to warn you, once you leave this island, you can never come back.”

Before any of them could protest or question why, Lance continued, as if he’d done it a million times. “The island has a spell around it, so it only reveals itself to those it wants to come to it’s shores. But once you leave, it will hide itself from you for good. Also, you will forget that this place exists and the time you spent here.”

“If you decide to stay, we will find a place for you in our community. We will give you a place to stay in the castle until you’ve made your decision.” Hunk finished.

“Shay!” Lance called out to the royal guard who came to his side almost immediately. “Please give these visitors the tour of the castle and show them to their rooms.”

Shay bowed, “yes, your Majesty.”

Lance nodded and turned to Hunk. “Come on.” He mumbled, barely audible to the rest of the people in the room. The two kings then joined hands and ran up the same flight of stairs where Keith had disappeared. Shiro hoped that they would be following them up those stairs on their tour, but instead Shay lead them through a door on the opposite wall. He looked around at Coran, Allura, and Pidge and noticed that none of them seemed to be paying attention to what Shay was saying. They were all thinking the same thing.

Keith was alive and, somehow, he became a king to a hidden island nation in the middle of the ocean.

~~~~

Keith sat on the bed, hunched over with his hands tangled in his hair. His crown was balancing precariously on the back of his head, but Keith didn’t care enough to either fix it or take it off. His head shot up when he heard the door open, his crown tumbling down onto the bed behind him.

“Seven billion!” He declared, standing up off the bed and starting his rant before Hunk even got the door closed. “There are seven billion people alive on this damn planet and of course, of course, the ones that show up here are the only four people out of those seven billion people that ever gave a shit about me! You know, the people who probably thought I was dead up until five seconds ago!”

“Keith…” Hunk and Lance shared a concerned look before Hunk walked up behind Keith and placed a hand on his shoulder, “you should talk to them.”

Keith groaned, “I know I should talk to them but, like, what if they’re mad at me and don’t want to talk to me? I mean, if they’re mad that’s their problem and-”

“Keith.” Lance interjected before Keith could ramble himself into another rant. “They seemed shocked to see you. Maybe even a little concerned when you ran off. You don’t have to talk to them if you don’t want to, but it would probably be best if you did.”

Hunk nodded, “especially since they’re going to be staying here until we have a boat ready for them. If they decide to leave.”

“That’s another thing!” Keith stepped away from Hunk and turned to face them, “they might be happy to see me alive and all, but once they leave they’ll forget that they saw me. They’ll forget all of this. So that might make them want to stay like I did but they all have lives out there! Doing more things and better things with their lives than I was and I don’t want them to throw that all away because of me.” Keith crossed his arms and glared at the floor.

Lance walked up to Keith and threw an arm around his shoulders, “in the end, it’s their decision to make. Whether they stay or go, you should still talk to them.”

Keith looked up at Hunk, who stood in front of him, and then over at Lance. He sighed. “Okay. I’ll go talk to them.” He uncrossed his arms, wrapping one around Lance and running the other through his hair, “I should go do it now, before they start thinking they hallucinated this whole thing.”

“You can ask Shay which rooms they took.” Lance said.

Keith quirked a small smile, “no need, I remember where the guest rooms are. I’ll just go with who I find first and, knowing my luck, Shiro will be in the same room I was.”

~~~~

He was right.

Keith didn’t actually expect to be right. But there Keith was, standing in front of the door to the room where he used to sleep, and he could hear the voices of his friends and brother behind it. His fist hovered over the surface of the door as he strained his ears to hear what they were saying, but the door between them muffled their already hushed voices. He took a deep breath before knocking loudly on the wooden door. The voices behind it fell silent. Keith stood there for another moment, contemplating if he should just run away and avoid them until they leave the island.

Then the door opened.

Shiro stood in the doorway and stared at him. “Keith. What are you…” he trailed off, leaving his question unfinished.

“Can I come in? I want to talk to you.” Keith clasped his hands together behind his back, squeezing them tightly to contain his nerves.

Shiro nodded and moved out of the way, allowing Keith to walk through the door. He surveyed the room, it hadn’t changed at all since he’d moved out of it and into the master bedroom with Hunk and Lance. It had a bed in the far left corner, a window on the back wall, and a dresser in the far right corner. The carpet on the floor hadn’t changed, along with the seashells decorating the top of the dresser.

Pidge and Allura were sitting on the bed, Coran standing next to it. Shiro closed the door behind Keith and moved to stand next to Coran, leaving Keith at the front of the room. He took another deep breath, dropping his hands back to his sides. “Look,” he started, “I understand if you’re mad at me for staying here. But I’m not going to apologize for the decision I made.” He looked around at his friends, they all seemed to have blank expressions, still processing that he was actually there. “I stayed because I was happy. Lance and Hunk make me happy and if it’s my happiness, it’s my decision. So if you’re mad then-”

Keith was cut off by Pidge running up to him and tackling him in a hug, making him stumble back a few steps. “We’re not mad,” she mumbled into his chest, “we’re glad you’re alive.”

Allura stood up and walked over to them. She wrapped her arms around both of them. “Shocked, but glad.” She smiled.

“Yes, it was quite shocking.” Allura and Pidge stepped away from Keith as Coran came up to him. “Not a bad shocking like a toaster in a bathtub.” He reached out and pulled Keith into a tight hug. “More of a happy shocking. Like when I found ten dollars in change between my couch cushions.” He pulled back from the hug and smiled at Keith, who couldn’t help grinning back.

“Those guards that brought us here.” Shiro spoke up, getting everyone’s attention. “They said it was the anniversary of your marriage.” He looked at Keith, who nodded, confused. “You said you were happy here?” Keith nodded again. Shiro smiled, walking up to Keith and enveloping him in a tight hug. “Then how on earth could I be mad?”

Keith sighed happily, wrapping his arms around his brother, “thanks, Shiro.”

“Group hug!” Coran cried, wrapping his arms around Keith and Shiro. Pidge somehow wormed her way in between Shiro and Keith and wrapped her arms around Keith again and Allura wrapped her arms around Shiro and Keith’s necks.

“I missed you guys.” Keith said.

“We missed you too.” Shiro replied.

“Keith?” Pidge spoke up from the middle of their hug-circle. “Are we actually going to forget we were here?”

Keith stepped back, disassembling their group hug. “Yeah, you will. It has to do with some spell that was cast on this island a few centuries back to keep it safe.”

“But magic doesn’t exist.”

“Pidge, this island isn’t on any map anywhere. No one knows it exists except for the people who live on it and this is the exact spot those weird signals were coming from.” Keith crossed his arms, “it’s safe to say magic exists. At least it does here.”

“You know,” Coran twirled his moustache, “that reminds me of a story I heard about my great great grandfather. He was a sailor and went missing! He reappeared two weeks later on the shoreline of the beach where he grew up, with no memories of what’d happened!”

Keith chuckled, “he was probably here, Coran. Two weeks was how long it took them to get a boat ready for me.”

“Why so long?” Allura asked.

“Well they don’t get visitors often, so they have to build a boat if the visitor wants to leave and then there’s a blessing they do so the boat will go to where the visitor came from.” Keith ran a hand through his hair, “I felt pretty bad for them when I decided to stay and all their hard work went to waste. Shay insists that it’s fine, but I still feel kind of bad.”

“Shay?” Pidge asked, “you mean the nice royal guard lady that brought us here?”

“Yeah, their family is, like, the oldest family on the island. Apparently their ancestors were here even before the spell went up, and they were the ones to cast it, too.” Keith rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward. “I know it sounds strange but all this magic stuff is real.”

“So when we go back home, we’re really going to forget this.” Allura said, answering the question everyone was thinking. Keith nodded. “Are you sure there’s no way to prevent it?”

“Yeah,” Pidge piped up, “like what if you wrote a letter to us, telling us everything. Then if we take it with us, we could read it when we get home.”

Keith hummed, thinking. He turned towards the door and opened it. Lance and Hunk stumbled in trying to look like they hadn’t just had their ears pressed against the door. “Could that work?” Keith asked.

Hunk cleared his throat, his face scarlet with embarrassment at being caught. “Well, I’m not sure. A letter might not bring back their memories but it could give them an idea of what happened in the span of time they forgot.”

Pidge gasped, her eyes twinkling. It was the expression she got when she connected the dots to any problem she faced. “Kind of like how your parents tell you stories of when you were really young! You don’t remember them per se, but you have an idea of what happened due to the knowledge of an outside source!”

“It’ll be like that story my parents told me of that time I swallowed three nickels, two dimes, and a quarter when I was three!” Coran said. “They checked every time I went to the bathroom to see if they came out, but they never showed up! So for all I know I’ve still got fifty-five cents somewhere in my body!”

Everyone looked silently at Coran, who was twirling his moustache happily. Lance walked up next to Keith and threw an arm around his shoulders, “this guy is as great as you said he was.”

“Why thank you, dear boy! I do pride myself on my stories!” He looked Lance up and down. He and Hunk were still wearing their ceremonial clothes and crowns. “I’m sure you’ve got plenty of stories about this island to tell.”

Lance smirked, “I’m the youngest of three boys and two girls. I have four little nieces and five little nephews. I could tell you stories all day if I wanted to. Hunk is the one with historical stories.” Lance perked up as he started bragging about Hunk. “His family is the actual royal family so they’ve got a ton of books and stuff on the history of this island and Hunk is super smart so he knows a lot of the information in those books.”

Hunk stepped up so he was on Keith’s other side, “don’t sell yourself so short, Lance. You love reading those books and know just as much as I do.”

Lance shrugged, “you’re better at telling the historical stories than I am. Plus, they get jumbled up with my family stories so I end up telling them wrong sometimes.” Lance gasped and turned to where Shiro stood, stars in his eyes. “You’re Keith’s brother, right?” Shiro nodded, “so you knew him when he was little?”

“Yes?”

Lance removed his arm from around Keith and bounded over to Shiro, taking both his hands in his, “you have to tell me baby Keith stories.”

Shiro took a moment to process the request before a wide smile grew on his face. “Well the first time we took Keith to the zoo-”

“Shiro I swear to God if you tell him that story-”

“What’s a zoo?” Lance asked, the wonder in his eyes still shining.

“It’s a place where endangered or injured animals are kept and cared for. Anyway, we took Keith and he was probably only six at the time-”

“Shiro do not tell him that story.”

“-and he really liked the hippos, so when we moved on to other animals, he slipped away and went back. Keep in mind he chose, of his own free will, to do this. So he snuck away and went back and when we found him he was sitting with one of the caretakers on a bench. He was holding an ice cream cone but he was crying too hard to eat it.”

“Shiro please-” Keith had his head in his hands at this point.

Shiro ignored him, Pidge and Allura were snickering, Coran had an amused smile on his face. Lance and Hunk looked at Shiro in awe as he finished his story. “So we asked him why he was crying. He said he wanted to take a hippo home but the lady said no and-” Shiro did his best six-year-old-crying-Keith impression, “-’she got me an ice cream to make me feel better but I can’t eat it because I’m crying an’ it’s making my hand all messy’”

“Incredible.” Lance whispered, as if he’d just witnessed a wonder of nature. He put his hands on his hips, looking up at the ceiling as he thought, “I have a story kind of like that. My little niece Jenna wandered off once. We found her an hour later in the forest surrounded by monkeys and her face covered in berries.”

Pidge walked up to Lance and touched his arm to get his attention, “one time, my older brother Matt was in the middle of an exam- this happened a few years ago by the way- so he was in the middle of a math exam and-”

“Oh my god I know this story.” Shiro whispered. “I was there. It was so funny.”

“He was in the middle of this exam and there was this one question he couldn’t get an answer that made sense. So after like five re-writes he was so frustrated and yelled ‘WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!’ at his paper. In a dead silent classroom.”

“I was in that class.” Shiro said, holding back laughter. “I had my head down on the desk for a solid few minutes, trying not to laugh out loud. Matt almost got kicked out by the teacher but she let him finish his exam with a stern warning.”

“Well when I first met Lance,” Hunk started, “I was out with my parents, we were only about twelve, at the oldest.”

“Nooooo don’t tell them this one!” Lance whined, crossing the room to Hunk and clinging on to him, “I have an image now!”

Hunk laughed, “long story short, Lance tried to be smooth but slipped and fell in a mud puddle.” Lance whined, clinging on to Hunk’s shirt.

“Betrayal.” He muttered.

“You love me.” Hunk’s smile grew wider.

“Yeah.” Lance admitted in defeat.

Keith watched them with a soft smile on his face, his heart swelling in his chest and his mind elsewhere. He was brought back to reality when Shiro punched him lightly on the arm. He was giving Keith a smug look, gazing around at his friends, they were all giving him a smug look. Keith rolled his eyes, his cheeks burning. He cleared his throat, pulling Lance and Hunk’s attention back to him. “Why don’t we just stay here for a little while and talk? You two could get to know these guys a little bit before they have to set off tomorrow.”

Hunk and Lance lit up. Lance took Hunk by the wrist and bounded over to the bed, sitting down on it. “Tell us more Keith stories.” Lance demanded excitedly. He was practically vibrating where he sat.

As his friends all eagerly found their own places to sit, excitedly telling several stories at one, Keith groaned. “I’ve made a horrible mistake.”

~~~~

“I still can’t believe you used to think the moon was made of cheese.” Lance gestured at Keith with his fork before stabbing at his breakfast again. “I mean, it’s grey. It doesn’t even look like cheese.”

“I was seven, Lance. Don’t tell me you never thought stupid things when you were seven.”

“He thought that if he made a weird face and the wind blew on you, it would get stuck that way.” Hunk commented.

“I thought that too.” Allura said from her seat next to Lance.

They were all at the dining table together eating a late breakfast since they’d stayed up late talking, telling stories, and writing the letter to be sent back with the visiting group. Therefore, they woke up very late. Hunk was at the head of the table and Keith and Lance were on the end of either side, as always. Allura and Coran were next to Lance, while Shiro and Pidge were next to Keith.

“See! It’s not a weird thing to think.” Lance shot back at Keith. Keith just shrugged, not really in the mood for bickering.

The group ate in silence until the door to the dining room opened. “The boat is ready, your Majesties.” Rax stood there, looking just as intimidating as he had the night before.

“Already?” Hunk asked.

Rax nodded, “since we still have the boat that His Majesty Keith was going to use, we prepared it for these four visitors. They may set out as soon as they are ready.”

“Thank you, Rax. You are dismissed.” Lance said. Rax nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

They finished their meal in silence, then headed down to the beach where a wooden boat was waiting for them.

“So this is going to take us all the way home?” Pidge asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

“Not to worry.” Shay stood in front of it, giving them a comforting smile, “we’ve made many boats such as this one to carry travellers home. It is blessed so that the ocean will carry it back to your home. You will be safe.”

Pidge nodded. Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to do next. Hunk smiled at the guard. “Shay,” he said, “if we could have a moment, please.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” She looked over at the four visitors, “it was lovely meeting you. Safe travels.” Then she bowed at Hunk, Lance, and Keith before walking away quickly.

“So…” Keith started, looking over at his old friends, “...this is it then, huh?”

Shiro placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder, “don’t forget us, alright?”

Keith hugged Shiro tightly, “of course I won’t.”

After pulling away from Shiro, Allura and Pidge walked up to him. “Keith.” Pidge glared up at him, “if you forget us, Allura and I will defy any magic around this island to come back here and kick your ass.”

Keith laughed, hugging the two girls. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Coran came up to him last, hugging Keith tightly. Pulling away, he looked the younger boy in the eye. “Take care of yourself, Keith.”

Keith smiled softly at the older man. “I will, Coran. Don’t worry, I won’t forget any of the stories you’ve told me.”

“You’ll be like an elephant with a photographic memory and never forget anything about us!” Coran exclaimed.

Keith looked down at the letter in his hand, then back up at his friends. He handed it to Coran. “If any of you will believe a story about a mysterious island in the middle of the ocean, it’s you.”

Coran pulled Keith into one more quick hug before putting the letter in his pocket and turning to the rest of the crew. “Off we go, then! We haven’t got all day!” They could all hear the tears he was holding back, but they ignored it.

The four of them climbed into the boat and set off. Keith stood where the water just touched his toes when it came to shore and waved until they passed the invisible barrier that protected the island and the boat was just a smudge in the distance. He let his hand drop to his side. Keith felt hands take hold of his, one skinny and boney, the other large and warm.

“You okay?” Hunk looked down at him.

Keith sighed, “yeah. I’m okay.”

“Do you want to stand here a little longer?” Lance asked.

“Yeah.” He said, choking up. “Please.”

The three of them stood there until there was nothing left to look at but ocean.

~~~~

Shiro had a weird sense of déjâ-vu. He woke up on the beach, lying on his back, with the sun beating down on him. He didn’t remember how he got there. He sat up and noticed Pidge lying next to him, also regaining consciousness. If they’d been knocked overboard and washed up, she still had her glasses somehow.

Pidge sat up and noticed Coran and Allura a little way down the beach. Okay, Shiro had definitely seen this before. But he couldn’t place where. Maybe in a movie he’d watched?

Pidge and Shiro ran over to Coran and Allura as they both awoke and sat up, confused.

“Where are we?” Allura asked.

Shiro looked around and really took in his surroundings for the first time. “We’re...on the private beach behind Coran’s house.”

“We are?!” Coran turned around and, sure enough, there stood his house. “Hm. Guess whatever happened to us, we got lucky and didn’t wash up on a public beach like my great great grandfather did after he-”

“Coran.” Pidge interjected, “what’s that in your pocket.”

“Hm?” Coran looked down at his pants and pulled out a parchment envelope that seemed to be completely dry. “That’s strange…” he opened it and started reading aloud.

‘Dear Coran, Pidge, Allura, and Shiro.

I’m sure as you’re reading this, you’re washed up on the beach behind Coran’s house with no memory as to how you got there.’

“That’s Keith’s handwriting.” Shiro said, looking at the letter over Coran’s shoulder.

“So it is.” Coran commented before continuing his reading.

The letter went to to describe how the four of them had washed up on an enchanted island and that’s why they don’t remember anything. It described how they had met Keith and his two husbands and how all three of them were the kings that ruled the island.

‘I know it seems impossible, but if you really think about it...it makes sense, doesn’t it? I don’t know if this letter even survived your trip back home, but if it did, have faith, okay? Have faith for me, know that I’m alive and I’m happy. I’m okay, guys. Don’t worry.

I’ll never forget you, even if you forget me.’

“Signed, Keith, Lance, and Hunk.” Coran finished. “Well, the story may seem impossible but that’s definitely Keith’s signature.” He held the letter up, showing the other three members of the group.

“That would explain why waking up on the beach felt so...familiar.” Shiro looked down at the sand.

“Because we did the same thing only 24 hours ago.” Pidge finished his thought.

“Now that I think about it,” Allura said, “that story in the letter does kind of feel like...we lived it.”

“Well!” Coran stood up abruptly, brushing the sand off his pants. “I don’t know about you three, but I believe it wholeheartedly! Now, I’m starving like a lion on a vegan diet! I say we go get something to eat and a frame to put this letter in!”

Allura, Pidge, and Shiro all stared up at Coran for a moment before they all laughed softly. Shiro stood up, also brushing sand off his pants. “Sounds like a plan.” Coran grinned, marching back to his house, letter in hand and the other three following closely behind him.

They would never admit it, but even if the letter was fake, they didn’t care. They would rather believe Keith was alive on some strange island and happier than he’d ever been over thinking he died in the sea.

And so they did.

**Author's Note:**

> ongoing fics: mother please....we haven't been updated in ages...
> 
> me, writing a new thing: lmao 
> 
> Klance: is good  
> Hance: is good  
> Heith: is good  
> Klunk: G O D T E I R


End file.
